Champagne Romance (Romance Novel) (9 page)

As Swan snuggled her toes in a vintage
skinned zebra rug that she had found in an obscure antique shop on
the streets of New York, she found herself beginning to appreciate
her surroundings more and more by developing a keen sense of her
other senses. She could even picture the white alabaster fireplace
that set opposite her and the large gold leaf framed mirror from
Italy that hung above it. She could see the leopard chair, which
sat Cleopatra, her white Persian cat, grooming her long fluffy fur.
She began to sip her English tea and it wasn’t long before
Cleopatra joined her on the couch seeking attention from the
mistress of the house.

Lost in thought, Swan began to plan for her
future. Money was not a problem as she had invested large hunks of
money from her modeling with a very savvy financial adviser. He had
secured her for the present and for the future with his wise
investments and retirement plan. He had insisted that she pay cash
for her fabulous apartment. He gambled that the interest rates and
housing would go up. Little did they know that property value on
the east and west coast would triple in value within the next two
years and that it would be a lucrative decision for her. She would
still be able to continue her life style and hire a housekeeper and
cook full time.

A small apartment was at the back of Swan’s
condo. It was on the opposite side of her bedroom for her
housekeeper, Maria, who was recently widowed. This living
arrangement would allow Maria to have a rent-free dwelling of her
own and not have to worry about ever living with her children. It
was a workable arrangement for the mistress and the maid. It was a
comfort to both of them to know that someone was nearby that seemed
to care.

CHAPTER 22

The first thing that Swan did the next
morning was make an appointment with her internist. Disregarding an
occasional headache and total blindness, she just had not been
feeling like herself for the past month. She seemed extra tired and
a little like she had a virus.

Swan had taken a taxi to the office of
internal medicine. On their way to the medical building, the taxi
passed several tourists, locals, including a man jogging with his
happy Doberman heading for the beach. After paying the taxi driver
from bills folded a certain way to indicate the denomination, Swan
made her way to the office of the medical building.

Climbing the steps into the large five-story
building, Swan was feeling rather proud of having found the
elevator. She felt for the button that went to the third floor. She
used her white cane to get herself to the reception desk and
announce her presence to the office clerk. Having found the nearest
chair, she sat down.

Even though Swan wore her designer
sunglasses she could feel the rude stares of other patients---funny
how she was even aware when the novelty of a blind person in their
presence wore off and they looked away engrossing themselves in
a
People
or
Entertainment
magazine. It wasn’t
long before the nurse called her name, guided her to a room at the
back, gave her a medical gown, made sure she was comfortable, and
shut the door behind her.

Swan could hear the quiet murmur of voices in
the next room. If she didn’t breathe she could almost make out what
was being said. A few minutes later a door shut quietly and
footsteps approached her door. The doctor made a ten second read of
the file that was placed outside the examining room and entered
with a quiet knock.

Doctor Maggie was always very considerate and
thoughtful. It was easy to have a good relationship with her. She
understood the white coat syndrome and always tried to make her
patients feel as comfortable as possible. Today was no different.
Swan had been going to her for a very long time.

Taking Swan’s hand for reassurance, Dr.
Maggie expressed her sadness of the accident and then moved on to
her professional self. Having told the doctor her symptoms of
lethargy and nausea, Swan expressed her concern that the concussion
was affecting more than her sight. The doctor listened to her vital
signs and felt her tummy. She then ordered a blood and urine test
to be rushed to the lab. She was soon finished and told Swan to get
dressed and meet her in her office. When Swan was ready, a nurse
appeared to guide her down the hall and into an office leather
chair.

It was a while later before a shocked Swan
left the medical facility. With the name of an obstetrician in one
hand, she slowly made her way down the handicap ramp. She was
trying not to go into shock as she moved along like an old woman
putting one foot down in front of the other in a very mechanical
gait. She felt that the unbelievable had happened and she was
having a hard time getting her mind around the grim fact. Ace
apparently had a very potent sperm count and she was three months
pregnant. She would be a mother by fall.

CHAPTER 23

Slater needed some R&R at his working
Malibu ranch north of LA. He fired up his twin-engine private plane
and headed for his Yucca Point Ranch near the small coastal city of
Malibu with his Doberman companion, Caesar. He landed on his
private runway just in time to see the lavender and magenta sunset
crisscross the rolling Pacific.

The first residence of this small unique
California town was the Chumash Indians in the 1500’s. They lived
up and down the sleepy shore from Malibu to San Luis Obispo in
their dome-shaped grass huts. These Indians were fabulous craftsmen
famous for the canoes they made using shells and flints. They were
fishermen as well. They liked to traveled as far as Santa Catalina
to trade with the Indians on the island for steatite, a form of
soapstone, which they made bowls lined with the colorful shell of
the abalone. They were considered one of the most advanced of the
California Indians.

The modern town of Malibu is quite quaint
with only approximately thirteen thousand residences that reside
there year around on very rich real estate. It sets on the Pacific
Coast Highway that winds through hilly terrain and gives a constant
view of the Pacific Ocean with its lumbering tides and sandy
beaches. The twenty-three miles of rugged coastline, deep canyons,
green mountains, and quiet coves made it perfect place for Slater’s
ranch that had been tucked away in the quiet mountains for a couple
of centuries.

The ranch was originally the property of a
powerful Spanish Don. It was built in the early 1800’s about 200
years ago. Battles were fought and won as they finally forced the
Chumash Indians off their land and claimed it as their own. It was
a spectacular one and half-story-high home of mortar with a slate
tile roof. The walls were a foot thick that gave protection from
the elements and Indians. It was naturally cool in the summer and
warm in the winter. It was built in a square around an elaborate
ebony polished marble fountain surround by native lavender
Jacaranda flowering trees and lush tropical landscaping. The
fountain was originally the water well that provided the hacienda
with cool water for the original household. It meant that with
enough supplies, the occupants could hold up inside the hacienda
indefinitely. The inside walls of every room were glass and
overlooked the beautiful flowering garden. But, the outside walls
had high walls and windows that only had slits that were used for
rifle slots when it was needed to protect the small fort and also
provided ventilation for cool ocean breezes. Large stone fireplaces
adorned most of the twelve rooms and took the chill from the purple
mountains in the winter that looked down upon the quiet ranch from
a short distance away.

Slater’s spectacular spread included over two
hundred acres of prime seaside land, a winding trout creek with
native trees and mountains nearby with deep canyons. Yucca plants
covered the lumpy terrain. Along the rugged and rocky ocean beach
were remote damp caves that often were the home for stolen riches
of pirates and smugglers as history likes to portray. It was a
beautiful and serene estate. It was also one of the most valuable
pieces of real estate property in the United States.

The inside room of the ranch had long since
been modernized, but the charm of the eighteenth century was
preserved and remained the stately structure of the original ranch
house. Pinewood graced the walls, banisters, and ceiling giving it
a mountain lodge feel. It was sturdy and held together with pegs
instead of nails.

The floor of the hacienda was the Mexican
tile similar to what is used today. A rustic Ralph Lauren look with
woven Navajo rugs graced the shiny floors and Pendleton blankets
covered chairs, ottomans, and pillows.

Two large couches that were covered in brown
and white cowhide faced each other in front of a sixteen point elk
head that hung above the native stone fireplace. Black pottery from
Santa Clara held fresh colorful wild flowers on the pine and glass
coffee table between them. Authentic Hopi coiled Indian pottery
accented mantels and shelves. Many of their designs were of fine
and diverse pottery that depicted the heritage and traditions of
their own particular tribe. Original art of Georgia O’Keefe, RC
Gorman, and Caroline Gregg also lined the walls and halls of this
grand old ranch making it rich in American Indian culture. A
chandelier made of deer antlers mixed-in with handmade silver and a
touch of turquoise hung from the high ceiling entrée way in the
hall. A handmade silver saddle was on a stand in the corner. An
original rifle with fancy silver tooling on the shoulder butt was
in a glass case above an armoire filled with expensive museum
quality pottery. Subtle modern lighting was strategically placed to
show off each exquisite artwork of our American Indians and give
tribute to their artistic talent. It was expensive casual
decorating that complimented this ancient ranch and suited the
master of the house.

It was late when Slater climbed into his
king-sized handmade natural pine bed. It had simple lines with some
carving on the headboard and bedposts. A wool Pendleton blanket in
brown, red, and dark turquoise Indian design covered the bed with
large pillows in turquoise and brown striped woven wool. An
original massive antique pine dresser faced the bed. A large pine
antique mirror hung over it. An armoire stood at an angle in the
corner.

As Slater slid between the soft cotton
sheets, he was soon lulled asleep by the serenading coyotes hiding
in the surrounding canyons. Their tune was the same tune that they
had sung to other Dons for over 200 hundred years as they howled
the inhabitants into a deep slumber on this particular ranch. As
deep darkness descended, the wild critters took cover for the night
and birds found their perch on nearby trees while night creatures
began to stir. The only one that seemed effected and restless by
the enveloping sounds was Caesar. His ears twitched with the call
of the wild from his undomesticated ancestors as they beckoned for
him to join them in the serene and mystic hills.

Cattle were raised on Slater’s ranch. They
were taken care of by the foreman, Jacob, who lived in a small
house near the old main hacienda. He was an old and trusted friend
of Mexican descent. Slater had met him many years ago when he was
fifteen and worked a cattle ranch with him near San Diego. He was
his mentor and sometimes advisor when he was very young. His wife,
Juanita, had been a mother hen to him when he needed it most. They
made his young adult years a little more tolerable. They were
Slater’s family and he would do anything for them.

Jacob was given over one hundred head of
Angus cattle by Slater to raise and earn a living. For that job, he
was to keep an eye on the main hacienda, keep Slater’s freezer
stocked with steak, and provide his wife as a cook and housekeeper
whenever Slater was at the ranch. It made Jacob proud to be the
owner and foreman of this small dynasty of cattle that he could
call his own. It was a comfortable, but simple life. It was an
arrangement that suited all concerned. The only problem Jacob faced
was the occasional cougar that wondered down from the hills looking
for cattle, upon which to prey for their evening meal. Tracking
them and eliminating them was an easy task for an old hunter like
Jacob. It wasn’t long before they became a rug in front of his
fireplace.

CHAPTER 24

Swan awoke to a cool ocean breeze blowing in
from the balcony doors. She could almost taste the salty sea air.
Seagulls squawked in the distance as they skimmed over the water
looking for fish. Roller blades could be heard nearby as young
yuppies rolled out their daily routine of exercise. They were all
reassuring and familiar sounds that surrounded her. She lay there
for a while listening and hoping that this would be the day that
she would see them with her very own turquoise eyes, but it was not
to be. She choked back the nausea as she lay still waiting for her
stomach to settle. Reaching for a saltine, she munched on the
cracker that she kept on the nearby table beside her bed. So far,
she had had an easy pregnancy. If she would continue to work with
her personal trainer and walk daily, she would probably have a
normal easy delivery. She was young and healthy, which would
certainly tip the scales in her favor.

Swan was now four months pregnant and after
some adjustment, she was excited about becoming a mother. Today,
she could feel the slight tickle like butterfly wings in her tummy
that signified life. Running her hand over her little mound, she
smiled. She would have a baby boy in early fall. She could not help
, but wonder if he would look like his father or her own neither of
which she had ever seen. It didn’t matter. She would love him
fiercely and he would be her very own.